Astral Escape

By calling upon the power of (#invoking) the Amulet of Yendor at a High altar, the player effectively shuns the Gods, and attempts to return home. The perfect finale for atheist conduct keepers.

So what does this do?

You can now attempt to #invoke the Amulet of Yendor and cheap plastic imitations of the Amulet of Yendor. Since this is such a serious action, you'll get a yes/no prompt to confirm, so don't worry about accidentally #invoking the Amulet when you are trying to re-charge your /oDeath using the PYEC or somesuch!

* If you are not on an altar, there is no effect at all.
* If you #invoke an unidentified fake amulet at any altar (not just the High altars), you are commiting an open act of defiance to the Nethack Gods. One which will, in this case, fail miserably. You will lose 1 from luck, 10 from alignment and upset the god in question. But at least the amulet will be identifed as a fake...
* If you #invoke an identified fake at any altar, then you are foolish (so lose 1 WIS!) as well as defiant. WIS is furthermore abused, lose 3 from luck, 12 from alignment and upset the god in question.
* If you #invoke the real Amulet of Yendor at a non-High altar, then you will be told to head for the surface (same as if you tried to #offer it). However, since you have just showed a very open act of defiance, the gods will not like you... You will lose 1 from luck, 10 from alignment and upset the god in question.
* In the event that you #invoke the real Amulet of Yendor at a co-aligned High altar, the effect is identical to ascension in terms of score (naturally, the ending will be significantly different in terms of message displayed!), but the player will be listed in the logfile as having "defied the gods and escaped".
* If you #invoke the Real Amulet of Yendor at a cross-aligned High altar, then you will escape in celestial disgrace. The Amulet will protect you from being zotted by the gods, but will fall out of your pack/grasp/whatever before you make it home - somewhat like Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" losing her ruby slippers...

I don't think it makes sense for an atheist to defy the gods. I thought the motivation for this patch was that an atheist doesn't believe in the gods, and it doesn't make sense to offer the amulet to something non-existent. Choosing to defy the gods doesn't address this problem.

In Nethack, the Gods exist whether you believe in them or not. The atheist conduct isn't so much about not believing in them as it is not relying on their power.[Quote]

I don't think it makes sense for an atheist to defy the gods. I thought the motivation for this patch was that an atheist doesn't believe in the gods, and it doesn't make sense to offer the amulet to something non-existent. Choosing to defy the gods doesn't address this problem.[Quote]

This patch is clearly for atheists so I and my friend prefer the following endgame in the Astral Plane:

* You invoke AoY on one of High alters, then the subject alter becomes unaligned (or destroyed).
* Repeat the same thing on the remaining 2 alters.
* At the time you ruin the 3 High alters, you can happily escape the dungeon.[Quote]

It makes sense, though, that the Amulet would have the power to protect you from divine wrath. I imagine the gods would also be hesitant to mess with you, once you've gained access to some of the Amulet's powers. That is what you're doing when you invoke it at the high altar, right?

This could also explain why the altar needs to be coaligned; you can't properly attune yourself to the Amulet when surrounded by a foreign aura. Or something like that.[Quote]

I would like to see a patch where if you invoke the amulet on the high altar, you then have to escape to the surface with your god permanently pissed off and all three gods actively impeding you. It seems like if you're going to defy the gods and steal the amulet, it should be harder than sacrificing it to your god. This could be made hard enough to add an additional layer of difficulty for the best players.[Quote]

Yes, I guess so but that would damage the game balance (i.e. it makes it easier to win), whereas this patch retains the difficulty entirely (since if you can #invoke to escape, you can #offer to ascend).[Quote]